MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Cheese Originals announces today applications for its annual Beginning Cheesemaker Scholarship are available. The $2,500 award will help one aspiring cheesemaker earn his or her Wisconsin cheesemaking license and make new artisan, farmstead or specialty cheeses.

Wisconsin is the only state in the nation to require cheesemakers to be licensed, a lengthy process that can take as long as 18 months, requires the attendance at five cheesemaking courses, and 240 hours of apprenticeship with an existing licensed Wisconsin cheesemaker.

Applications for the 2015 Wisconsin Cheese Originals Beginning Cheesemaker Scholarship are available for download at www.WisconsinCheeseOriginals.com. Applications are due March 20. The recipient will be chosen by a review committee and notified by April 10.

This marks the sixth year Wisconsin Cheese Originals has offered a scholarship, infusing $15,000 into the cheesemaking community and helping six new cheesemakers create award-winning artisan and farmstead cheeses. Past recipients include:

2014: Sandra Acosta milks 600 dairy goats on a farm near Port Washington, Wis. with her husband. An accomplished cheesemaker, veterinarian and instructor in her native Mexico, Acosta aims to become a licensed cheesemaker in Wisconsin, eventually building an on-farm creamery.

2012: Anna Landmark owns and runs a small-scale sustainable farm with her husband and children in Albany, Wis. In 2013, after obtaining her cheesemaker’s license, Anna successfully launched Landmark Creamery and today crafts sheep and cow cheeses.

2010: Katie Hedrich Furhmann, obtained her license after receiving the first Wisconsin Cheese Originals Scholarship. At the 2011 U.S. Champion Cheese Contest, she took Best in Show for her goat's milk cheese, LaClare Farms Evalon, and was named the 2011 U.S. Champion Cheesemaker.

Have Fun. Do Good. Eat Cheese. Wisconsin Cheese Originals is a membership organization sharing information about Wisconsin artisan cheeses through a variety of events, all in the spirit of celebrating Wisconsin cheesemakers. Join for $35 a year and be invited to tours, dinners, tasting events and classes. Save the date – April 12, 2015 for CheeseTopia! www.wisconsincheeseoriginals.com